Question: Can a Country Provide a Quality of Life Existence and Be Sustainable for the Long-Term? Perhaps – None Do so Today

This week’s top story choice for you is quite fascinating.  How can a country provide a quality way of life for its citizens and also strive to be more sustainable over the long-term?

Researchers at two universities collaborated to see what countries are doing / and need to do / to provide quality of life for their citizens and to be sustainable (at the same time) to protect the planet.  The researchers explain where we are and where we need to go to achieve both (in balance).  There's an XY charting of the prominent nations for you as well.

This is certainly a good news / bad news story, authored by Karen Kaplan, the Medicine and Science Editor of The Los Angeles Times (since 2005).  The research was done by The Sustainable Institute of the University of Leeds (England) and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change in Berlin.

There are 11 necessary ingredients to make for a “well-lived existence” in a country, the researchers concluded, with some being necessities (like food and water) and others being “social goals” (such as the quest for equality). Countries were ranked 1-to-10, with 6.5 being a minimum level to strive for.  There were seven categories considered in the environmental area (such as carbon emission levels and clean water availability) to measure the sustainability of the country.

A total of 150 countries were evaluated; none provided a well-lived existence and did so on a sustainable basis.  Just three (3!) nations provided their citizens with all of the 11 items; seven (7) more offered 10-of-the-11 items.  Two (2) provided 9-of-the-11:  the United States of America and Canada. Again, no country today is doing so on a sustainable basis (the bad news).  

This is just the introduction of G&A's Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue.